God Eater Resurrection

The God Eater series is Bandai Namco’s response to the monster hunting genre popularized by Monster Hunter. God Eater Resurrection is a remastered version of Gods Eater Burst, which in turn was a remake of the first Japan-only God Eater. It includes both the original and burst’s story arcs, as well as a brand new story arc that ties into the following western release of God Eater 2: Rage Burst. Although it can be easily compared to Monster Hunter, it stands out for its fast hack-and-slash gameplay, intriguing weapons, and compelling story.

The story revolves around warriors known as God Eaters, whose sole mission is to defeat the Aragami, monsters who have threatened the human race. You play as a customizable avatar and engage in missions alongside a likable crew of characters like the energetic Kota, the arrogant Alisa, and resident cool guy Soma. The character-driven arcs keep the plot interesting, focusing on dark themes of loss and despair. The plot twists and interactions are compelling enough to keep things lively along the way. Although the majority of the plot is recycled from Gods Eater Burst, a new final story arc may motivate series veterans to re-experience this game.

God EaterResurrection’s gameplay shares similarities with Monster Hunter. You take on missions to engage the Aragami in real-time combat. Gaining materials from the Aragami opens up new weapons and shields to craft, better equipping you to take down stronger monsters. The similarities end there, as God Eater employs a fast gameplay style more reminiscent of a hack-and-slash than its monster hunting brethren. You can let loose and bombard monsters with slashes and shots.

There are ten weapons, or God Arcs, at your disposal: six blade weapons and four types of guns. They all play differently, accounting for various preferences and playstyles. For example, the hammer is a bulky weapon with a charge shot, while the scythe is faster and has longer reach. Each gun also varies in firing speed and bullet capability. For further customization, your weapons can have a number of properties, both physical and elemental. This comes into play when facing monsters with specific weaknesses, such as crushing blows or the spark element.

A key feature of your God Arc is the ability to switch between a blade and gun form at will. This mechanic doubles the variety of your loadout, encouraging players to mix and match their favorite close-range and long-range weapons. It also comes into play when recharging your guns. There is no set ammunition number for guns. Instead, each shot requires a certain number of oracle points (OP), which recover as you perform melee attacks. The weapon switching isn’t just for show; it goes hand-in-hand in creating a versatile strategy. Unfortunately, the default button to switch weapon styles is awkwardly mapped to the same button for running, but that can be changed in the options.

As in other games of this genre, your character doesn’t level up. Instead, you must rely on materials obtained from monsters to form new weapons and shields. There is a bit of grind, but the game is fairly generous with giving you what you need to ensure speedy crafting and upgrading. In order to gain monsters’ drops, you actually have to do as the title suggests and eat them. Your weapon has one more transformation, a set of vicious fangs that devours enemies to extract its parts. Devouring enemies has the added effect of activating your character’s burst mode, giving your character stronger attacks, a double jump, and regenerative properties. Promoting an original form of teamwork, link burst lets burst-strengthened players shoot their allies to “infect” them with burst mode as well. If your newly strengthened allies shoot you back, your burst will level up, creating a clever strategy where iron sharpens iron.

New to God Eater Resurrection are predator styles, which refer to different ways of devouring a monster. The standard method of devouring is changing your weapon into a mouth and feasting away. By customizing your predator style, you can alter what happens during your devour per situation. A few examples of the numerous styles include devouring an enemy while charging at it, performing a downward devour in midair, or backstepping immediately after eating. Since devours also do damage and activate your burst, there is huge incentive to picking the best styles for you.

Outside of battle, there are a number of actions you can perform, including crafting and upgrading your weapons. You can also talk to your teammates for crucial dialogue and cutscenes, as well as power up their abilities. The bullet editor is a useful tool for mixing different properties to create your own ammo. Finally, a database features tons of text designed to help you better understand the game’s mechanics. A thorough read is almost necessary since the game barely teaches you any advanced techniques, such as the important link bursts.

While these elements should come together to form an engaging game, the truth is that God Eater Resurrection is marred by repetitive monster encounters and overly long battles. The game starts out more promising, with large monsters threatening your existence. Then you end up fighting the same monsters mission after mission. In addition, nearly all of your fights take place in only a handful of maps, which gets old quickly. While it should be noted there is more monster variety during the second half of the game, you must play through nearly 50 missions to get to that point.

Although the fast gameplay can be fun, it can take a while for monsters to go down. This is usually fine in most games of this variety. However, for a game where you are attacking monsters dozens of times in the span of a minute, fights seem to last forever. It can be fatiguing to attack so much and yet gain so little progress. Engaging in this repetitive slog for dozens of missions is tiring, especially since there isn’t much else you do in any singular mission. The game can get difficult, but you have a set amount of downs you can endure before actually being booted out. Additionally, other characters can revive you using a link aid, sharing their health with yours.

Multiplayer helps offset the repetition. You and up to three other people can fight monsters together. Thanks to the built-in camaraderie from link bursts and link aids, playing alongside actual people is a great experience. You also don’t have to deal with the average AI of the in-game characters. Online runs pretty well without many connection hiccups. It would have been great to have some a local multiplayer mode since online can be barren. Regardless, if you can find some good players, whether random or online friends, then you can expect a better experience than solo mode.

From the opening anime music video to the game engine cutscenes, the game is aesthetically impressive, considering it’s a remaster of a Sony PlayStation Portable game. The graphics are understandably a bit jaggy, and the details aren’t as sharp as one would expect from a modern HD game. Regardless, the stylistic looks help serve its anime-like plotline. The music has a militaristic flair, with occasional impressive vocal music sprinkled in during important encounters. The voice acting is pretty good, with performances that help you sympathize with characters’ plights.

God Eater Resurrection has a strong premise with fast action-packed gameplay and a compelling story. Numerous weapons and the ability to switch between short- and long-range mid-battle help this game stand out. Predator styles and burst mode allow for versatile strategies and interesting power-ups. The execution is a little weak, and the majority of your 50+ hours will be spent fighting the same monsters in drawn-out battles. In the end, it can feel like a tedious grind. If you can round up buddies for online multiplayer and like the idea of a faster version of Monster Hunter, then God Eater Resurrection is a good way to begin your feast.

Alex Mateo

I am a lifelong gamer, having grown up with Nintendo since I was young. My passion for gaming led to one of the greatest moments of my life, my video game themed wedding!

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